A full house once again

Today my oldest son comes home from visiting at grandma and grandpa's house. So I will have my full house back in it's entirety. It's amazing how just having one voice not in the mix of things makes our crowded home seem empty. But it's true. We didn't have any shuffling to and from practice. Any begging to play outside with his friends and asking if we wanted to play video games with him. And while I know he had a lot of fun away from home, it was just way to quiet for me. His noisiness is nothing compared to younger three but I missed his sweet personality. So I can hardly wait for them to return late this afternoon so that my normal routine will feel right again. You'd think I'd be overjoyed to have one less in the mix but I've decided I like it all or nothing. Kind of crazy I guess.

Dogs

It seems that lately dogs seem to be the new theme in my life lately. I don't know why since I really don't like dogs all that much really. I reluctantly agreed to my husband to dog sit for a very old friend of ours. Mainly because the friend is looking for a job and really doesn't need the cost of kennelling his dog. So we had him bring his Border Collie up the other night to see how he got along with the kids and our dog. It all seemed okay so it was decided that Harley would come visit us for about a week. Now our dog has no manners and likes to jump up on people which I am forever trying to fix but she's a work in progress. However Gigi is great with our kids and will take any punishment they can dish out. Harley hasn't been around kids much but was pretty calm the other night. So it's all good right? Well after Harley arrived this morning the kids went out back to play and got on their trikes and such and speeded around the back patio as usual. Well for Harley this proved to be to much chaos for him and his natural instincts at herding kicked in. He started trying to round up my kids and naturally started nipping at their heels. So within two minutes both the kids were in tears screaming that Harley bit them. They were fine just upset at the turn of events in their play. Meanwhile Harley looked quite proud to have restored calm to the back yard. So for the sake of my children's heels the new rule is Harley has to stay inside while they are outside riding around on their wheels.

And the day just keeps getting better

I went to visit our "new" baby. He is perfect and mom is doing good. They should be home tomorrow. It amazes me how tiny and perfect all the features are on a baby. How does God do it? Every little crease and fold is perfectly laid out from his eyelids to his ears down to his toes. Amazing.

So what could possibly make a good day like this get any better? Finally hearing from my old college roommate who has proven to be quite the nomad since graduation. Catching up on all that is going on in her life is a lot of fun.

Silly I'm sure, but I just feel like I have been given a little bit of extra sunshine from God today and am thankful for it.

Welcome to the world

Happy Birthday and welcome to the world. My friend had a beautiful and healthy baby boy. He weighed in at 6lbs 9oz and has wonderful red hair. I am so excited for them all since it was a long journey to get him here. For me it's just another small reminder of all God's grace to provide us with a small piece of heaven here on earth. I can't wait to go see them this afternoon and share in the joy a new baby brings.

Good things about today

1. My friend is having her baby today. I'm so excited for them and can't wait to go and see the new baby when he arrives.

2. Hubby called with good news from work. I always like those phone calls.

3. We found a house we like enough to go and have a second look. Hopefully it will still look nice to us today and we can decide if we will do it or not.

4. The kids are all playing so nicely today.

5. Our dog is almost done with being in heat. Now I just need to make sure she isn't having puppies so I can go get her spayed.

Kill the dog

That seems to be the general consensus of everyone we have talked to. Kill that mean dog. We have even had volunteers offer to come and do it for us. Are you wondering what happened to start such an outpouring of support? Well after dinner the other night we decided to go for a walk around the block with the family and our family dog. So we put the baby in the stroller, my two middle children rode their bikes and my oldest ran ahead with a basketball. My husband was holding the leash. And off we went for our walk. As we approach the corner house where I know the dogs will get crazy and bark I warn them all to move past as quickly as they can. One dog is always jumping up on the fence and hanging off it somehow. But this night it wasn't enough for the dog to just jump up and bark at us. It saw our dog and somehow managed to get over the 6 foot fence and went into attack against our dog. As my husband is trying to kick this mean dog off our dog I'm frantically trying to get my children out of harms way. But that dog was everywhere and my husband was in the middle of it all. So I run to ring the doorbell to try and get the owners out to control their dog praying he won't turn on my kids. And he didn't, we got him cornered on the porch and the front door finally opened up. Yelling at the poor boy who opened the door to get his mom or dad. Well mom finally showed up and got the dog inside somehow. And we were only able to get her to say that yes the dog was current on his shots before she locked herself inside and didn't come back out.

Well I am sorry but I am pissed off at this point and this just wasn't enough to my way of thinking. So as soon as we got home I called the police to report this dog attacked us. I wanted it on record before any children were hurt, especially mine. So the next day the animal control officer came and talked to me and then went and talked to the neighbors. The dog did have proof of his vaccinations and would be gone by Sunday. Apparently the mom was the step mom and has always been afraid of this dog. The dad wasn't home at the time so when he got home he called his ex wife and said come get the dog. So hopefully the dog will now be in a place where it can't jump fences and attack other dogs or children. I did go by the house last night and for the first times in months that dog didn't jump up on the fence and bark as I walked past. My only thought was good riddance.

UPDATE:
I drove past the house this morning and saw that the dog was still in the backyard so I guess the ex wife didn't come and get him after all. Maybe I'll just have to start carrying pepper spray with me on walks and use it if he comes up on the fence again and tries to get out again. Or I could just call on some of these volunteers we have had.

One more day to Spring Break

I used to look forward to Spring Break with so much excitement. Especially when I got to the one more day until it arrived, I could hardly contain myself. Nowadays I still look forward to Spring Break but not with the same excitement. Because it seems like instead of spending it at home with the family like we would all like to do we always get guilted into visiting one of the grandparents house (usually mine). It's not like we don't enjoy going to visit them but I don't want to spend the entire week down there sitting around while my children seem to spiral further and further out of control. It seems all rules are non existent at grandma's house. And the children know they can get away with more so they push the envelope as far as they can. I truly think it's only enjoyable for the kids who get to break all the rules. But the grandparents are just so excited to have them at their house for a change that they don't even care (or so it seems) at how rotten they behave. For them it's just more stories to tell their friends about.

We are trying to get down to see my parents more now simply because they are beginning to have a hard time maintaining the little things that if unleft turn into big projects. Which really means my husband goes down to help with alot of the big physical jobs. So for us as parents it's really not that much fun. And for us as children it's alot of work while at the same time sad since we know five years ago there would have been no need for this type of help. But as our parents age our roles change and we give up our week off at Spring Break to go help out as best we can and try and enjoys ourselves as much as we can with the Wild Indians running around.

Do you have a Boxer?

Do you have a Boxer? That's the question one of our neighbors asked us after dark the other night. The reason of course is because our crazy Boxer had gotten out of our backyard. The gate hadn't latched correctly ( hasn't since the neighbor's new fence was put up) so Gigi decided to go out and see what was going on. Now Gigi our Boxer looks exactly like a Boxer named Asia at the end of our street. So some neighbors saw our dog sitting in our front yard and started shooing her home to Asia's house.

And so the night was just beginning. The men finally figured out that Gigi belonged to us and came to confess their mistake and begin the search for our dog. It was already dark and the kids (except for my oldest) were already in bed so my husband got in the truck and headed towards the woods where they think she went. An hour later one of our neighbors came to sit with my children so I could help also. About the time I was giving up and thanking my friend for watching the kids we heard another knock. It was one of the men who shooed Gigi away. He had been riding his bike everywhere looking for her and saw her sitting back in our front yard. He once again tried to help us out by getting her into our back yard but of course she spooked and took off down the street again. "Man she can run fast he says, she outran me on my bike like it was nothing." Gee, thanks I'm thinking. So I call my husband and he looks around again but still can't find her. So I finally tell him to give it up she'll either turn up again or be picked up by the dog catcher. And since it's almost midnight he agreed.

The next morning as I'm getting my very depressed son ready for school the phone rings. It was my neighbor saying that Gigi was hanging out in the front but wouldn't come when he called her. So off I run outside in my pj's with the phone still to my ear. And I see her. My son and I are calling her but she won't come. So we slowly walk up to her and start petting her and finally get her inside where she is overjoyed to be home. She starts scratching to get into her crate where she went to sleep immediately for the next 10 hours. I guess she had a really rough night of it since the darn dog was in HEAT when she got out. I had called the vet to make an appointment to get her fixed the day before but they said it would be more expensive to spay her while she was in season so we decided to wait another week before taking her. It's our own fault for not doing it sooner. So now I am convinced that we will have puppies of unknown origins in around 7 weeks or so. Maybe I should see if any of our helpful neighbors are looking to get a dog?

Dirty Grubby Clothes

Have you ever noticed how if your a mom (especially a mom with young children) your clothes are always dirty five minutes after you put them on. I put them on in the morning and they aren't stained or covered with food or any other gross things that seem to appear. But within minutes my shoulders are covered in items of unknown origins. Not to mention all the dirt stains on my pants from picking them up after they have been playing in the mud. I remember a not to distant time ago that I could actually wear a white top and at the end of the day still have it look white. Now I'm lucky if it will be completely white after I wash the top. It's gotten to wear I wear a lot of dark colors in hopes of hiding those spots that always show up. But I must admit it, I am tired of dark clothes. I want to wear light colors again and not have to spend a fortune washing and cleaning them. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if it only happens every now and then but for me it happens every day. I guess I am going to have to invest and buy stock in a company once they figure out what to do about all these stains. In the meantime I can only remember how once when I only had one child and he was about four, I wore light clothes on a regular basis. So for me that means I only have around three more years until I can do it again. Sigh, I hope I can wait that long.

Spring Fever

Sprint Fever,I definitely have it. I am itching to be outside in all the nice weather we have been having. I feel like getting the yard all fixed up and planting some new flowers. But instead I have been watching the children play out front with out getting much accomplished. Now that we are finally getting nicer weather we are also having all the problems that come with it. The allergies and asthma have been in full force in our house lately. So even if I can get that twenty minutes I need to work here and there in the yard it would cause an hour of wheezing inside. And while I know we would all enjoy the outdoor time I just hate it when they are to sick to enjoy it. So it's beautiful outside and we are still having to spend a lot of the day inside. Hopefully whatever is in the air will pass soon and we can all be outdoors again without the wheezing and coughing.

So Unmotivated

We have had so much going on the last two weeks that I am feeling so unmotivated to do anything now. My family was in town over the weekend and I should be trying to catch up on all that needs to be done around the house. But instead I am surfing the net and watching TV with the kids. At least I am working on laundry during all this but still that's only because it HAS to be done. What I really need to be doing is my devotional for tonight since I am not finished yet. But like I said I am unmotivated to do anything at all. Hopefully this laziness on my part will soon pass. Because I have a million things that need to be done. So now I hope to get off the computer and try to go fold some laundry and finish my devotional. Could this just be a case of sping fever? I hope so.

Works for Me Wednesday

Cleaning my glass front door has always been a problem for me until I discovered that yes I can use the same squeegee that I use in the shower on it. I just spray it down with Windex (sometimes scrubbing where little grubby hands have been) then I squeegee it. It sparkles like crazy for at least ten minutes until the kids get to it. For other Works for Me Wednesday click here.

No Longer Fenced In

We get so used to living in our fenced in little world. Growing up we had a back yard with a fence but it was made of rocks and concrete. So my parents would send me out to play without a worry that I would get into any danger. Fast forward thirty years and now it is my turn to send my children out into the back yard where they will play. Meanwhile I am secure in the knowledge that they can't get out front and disappear on me. Even though technically my son's do know how to open the gate they never do it without permission. My runaway two year old would easily run off if given half the chance along with her partner in crime our dog. As of yesterday I am now in for a week of worry and extra hassle. The reason is simply because our neighbor next door decided to replace his entire fence and so we are without one entire wall of fence. While it's great that the fence is being replaced, it is a new found freedom that both children and dog alike are loving. I can no longer just throw them out back to play and burn off some energy this week with out first leashing the dog and going out to watch them. The desire of all involved to go and explore all these new and undiscovered backyards is hard to contain. I know that by the end of the week they will all have peeked into the neighbors windows and sniffed around all the yards. The joy they are experiencing at no longer being fenced in is probably equal to the pain that I feel at having to keep up with them when they go outside to play. So if there is a way to get the fence man to put up our fence any quicker than maybe our helpful children and barking dog will spark the initiative to do it, along with a begging mom of course.

Working towards a Happier Day

There are some days that everything just works out perfectly and the children are all reasonably well behaved. So far today it has been one of those days despite the illness running through our home. Everyone is in good moods even after visits to the doctor's office and pharmacy. Is it because I am in a better mood or is it because I have a different perspective on things. I am going to assume it's a little bit of both. But I will take it for what it is worth and enjoy it as long as it last. Because with four children it never lasts longer than a day or two at most. But my mood is definitely better and I can only attribute that to my Lenten activities. They are very basic and simple activities but I must confess that some days are harder to achieve them. That is until I was reading another blog somewhere and someone made a reference to TiVo' ing their favorite shows on EWTN. I was struck by a lightning bolt moment and realized that yes I can do that also. So that is what I have been doing. So maybe that is why my day is a lot easier than it should be with sick children. Because I have been willing to spend my time in prayer (in particular the Rosary, one of my favorites) and in doing so have been blessed by the Lord's grace.

Oh So Tired

But well worth it. Had a wonderful weekend of fun. Even with the nasty dust storm we had during our party on Saturday. So much food and drinks and all shared with friends we hadn't seen in a while. I was telling one of my friends that I don't remember having so much going on in a long time. It kind of reminded me of a wedding weekend. You know with the party, luncheon and then a shower. The only thing missing was an actual wedding to attend. Thank goodness I probably would have fallen asleep by then. But by this morning it was back my normal routine. Or so I thought. My oldest was sick all day and my baby wasn't much better. Then when I thought it could get no worse, my poor husband comes home sick with the same stomach bug everyone else seems to have. So we are off to spend more money at the Dr's office. But me I can barely wait to crawl into bed and hibernate for a year or two.

Having a life!

Sometimes as a mom of four I forget that yes I can actually have a life that doesn't include my children at all times. Sometimes it's really a lot more fun if it's adults only. Well this weekend promises to be more of an adult only weekend than a mom weekend for me. Granted the children will be with us but since I will only be with them sporadically it's kind of like they aren't there. I am really looking forward to both parties that are going on this weekend. Normally we will go months without an actual invite for a "real" party. But as it usually happens when you finally do have something to do there will be another "something" come up that you want to do as well.

Saturday is our big going away party we are having for our friend and boy has it snowballed. We now have over 40 people coming to our home. Granted our home isn't small but it's really not big enough to have that many people indoors. So I'm sure we will be popping at the seams. I can't wait. Then Sunday is the girls only afternoon. I am even more excited about this one and know I will probably enjoy it more knowing my sweet husband is minding our four children with what I know will be a heck of a hangover. Is that a little mean of me? I really don't intend for it to be that way but normally it's me that deals with the children all day after a late night. But for his sake I will talk to them about being good for daddy.

Yes, as you can see I am excited. I have a life again, if only for a weekend.

A few ironies of late...

1. It seems like it never fails that once we finally start to get to some nice weather where we can all be outside someone gets sick.

2. The minute we decide to have an outdoor activity or party during a drought we get rain in the forecast.

3. The neighbor I do work for finally told me the CORRECT way to spell his last name. Sheesh!

4. We are fixing the air conditioner during winter. Although technically Texan winters aren't all that cold and it's almost 80 today.

5. The kids never want naps but mommy would give anything to have one some days.

Life with kids

Life with children is never really what you expect it to be is it. They drive you completely crazy one minute then the next they are declaring their undying love to you. And for what, absolutely nothing. They just feel like sharing that one emotion they are feeling that moment with you and doing it in a sweet and open way that we lose as we mature. I often wonder why my children are so good at always telling me and my husband how much they love us and they tell each other that as well. I'm sure other children tell their siblings as well I have just never noticed it before. I know we always tell our children how much we love and cherish them and if we are proud of an accomplishment then we tell them that as well. But is it our actions towards our children that are coming through in their current behaviour. I know I have been out of patience with the littlest things lately and have been showing my frustration more than I should. So maybe I should take a lesson from my children and just be a bit more easy going and not so quick to get upset over the proverbial glass of spilt milk. And for those wonderful gifts that drive me to insanity and back I hope I can show my appreciation to you today for the small gift you have given me because "yes, I do love you to sweetheart."

Farewell Party to good Friend

We are planning a party for our good friend who is leaving at the end of the month. He is a co-worker for my husband that has been living here far from his own country for the last 2 1/2 years. He was such a good friend to us when we lived in his native Finland that we were so excited to have him with us here in Tx. Now he is so much a part of the family that it will be strange not to have him up here on a regular basis. Hopefully he will be back in the fall if we are lucky. But until then we are planning a heck of a party to send him off with. All the neighbors who have become friends with him as well as other co workers are coming. So it should be a long long weekend of friends, food, fun and of course beer. I hope the livers of all that come are healthy and in full functioning order. So I am excited at the fun of this weekend but also a little sad at the reason for the party. But not to worry because I know we will still get many phone calls from him in the middle of the night after he gets back home to keep us updated on how he's doing. So here's to big "KIPPIS" to our friend.

Girl Scout cookies

What is it about Girl Scout cookies? Every year I buy my usual assortment of cookies and every year the boxes seem to contain less cookies but cost more money. Don't get me wrong, I know that they go for a good cause and all but really $3.50 for 15 cookies. That's 23 cents a cookie, I could almost buy a small pack of gum for that one cookie. Meanwhile I'm sure the cookies are just as good as they always have been but for some reason they just don't seem to do it for me anymore. And with the exception of the Thin Mints they don't seem to impress anyone else in the family that much either. So I guess that this year will probably be the last year we buy cookies from the little girls that come knocking on the door. I'm sure we will still buy the one obligatory box from the neighbor's girls but that's really no biggie there. So unless we know the little girl selling the cookies (or their parents) really well I am now going to hang out a sign that says "No girl scout cookies please".